Steve Goodrich

Visit here to try out our Open Access online tool that, for the first time in one accessible place, allows the public to search meetings between UK Ministers and lobbyists. An aspiring Prime Minister once called lobbying ‘the next big scandal waiting to happen’. Remember that? His comments were prophetical. A month later a string

Last week saw the opening of a new and novel feature in our democracy – the UK’s first recall petition. Whilst widespread in the US – 19 states have this process for their elected officials – recall is a new thing over here, so I thought I’d break down what it is, why it’s happening

Once a booming market, the trade in UK ‘Golden Visas’ seems to be on the wane. Despite recent claims that it received a post-Brexit boost, latest stats from the Home Office confirm this was merely a minor blip in a seemingly longer, downward trend.

This is a big week for transparency campaigners in the UK. After three years of waiting, the Scottish Parliament is finally going to debate whether lobbying in Edinburgh should be open to greater scrutiny. However, the big risk now is that MSPs fail to realise the opportunity that lies in front of them.

Steve Goodrich outlines the background and findings of the effectiveness of the new register of lobbyists that followed the 2014 Lobbying Act, and offers suggestions about what can be done if the UK Government is committed to increasing transparency and combating corrupt lobbying practices.

Open Governance Researcher Steve Goodrich looks at proposals for the Scottish Government’s impending statutory register of lobbyists, noting that the Government’s proposals go further than the UK in some areas but fall short in others.